"The United States District Court for the Eastern District of Richmond, Va., ruled late Tuesday in the case brought against Waterloo, Ontario-based RIM. It awarded NTP US$53.7 million.
The court also granted an injunction preventing RIM from making, using, or offering to sell handhelds, services or software in the United States. The injunction will remain in effect until the date of expiration of NTP's patents, the latest of which is 20 May 2012. The court then stayed that injunction, pending an appeal by the Canadian company.
The two sides have been engaged in a legal dispute since late 2001, when NTP claimed that RIM infringed on its patents covering the use of radio frequency wireless communications in e-mail systems. RIM's BlackBerry service, software and devices allow individuals to wirelessly send and receive information, such as e-mail and company data, on handheld devices.
[Wallace] added that RIM has 30 days to file the appeal and that he expected it to be at least another year before a court would make a final decision on RIM's appeal."
RIM (Research In Motion) is the maker of BlackBerry, the pager-like connected devices used by millions as e-mail, web and notification tool.
